Boeing . . .Boeing . . Bong!

Once ambitious plans to become a player in the international airline market are now very much in doubt for Indonesian low-cost carrier Adam Air, following yet another mishap on Wednesday, February 21, 2007, the latest in a string of embarrassing and sometimes tragic incidents that have plagued the self-proclaimed "boutique" carrier.

The latest episode, in what may prove the eventual demise of Adam Air, occurred when a fully-loaded Boeing 737-300 with 148 passengers and crews "slapped" hard onto the main runway in Surabaya shortly after 3:54 p.m. on Wednesday. Landing in heavy rains, the passengers reported turbulent winds on final approach followed by a sudden downdraft on touchdown. Such was the intensity of the impact that two of the aircraft's wheels exploded and the fuselage "cracked" just rear of the wing section, leaving the entire rear section suspended only inches above the ground.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the latest accident. The plane came to a halt on the main runway of the airport for more than an hour while passengers evacuated and before the flight could be towed to an apron area.

The latest incident to affect Adam Air - once cited with a merit award for "Low Cost Airline of the Year" from the Center of Asia Pacific Aviation, follows the loss of a Boeing 737-300 on January 1, 2007 in which 102 souls were lost, and the February 2006 flight of an Adam Air Boeing 737-300 that went missing for hours before landing 800 miles to the southwest of its intended destination.

Government Grounds Adam Air's B-737 Fleet

With the Airline already scheduled for a complete safety audit by the Government in March 2007, Civil Aviation authorities wasted no time following the Surabaya "crash" and immediately ordered the grounding of all Boeing 737-300s operated by Adam Air pending the completion a safety review. The order affects seven aircraft flown by Adam Air and effectively curtails many of its flight operations until further notice.